Compensation
by Mrs. HopeEstheim
Summary: Natsu had, once again, made a mess of things and burned down the hotel they had stayed in on their last job. In order to repay Lucy for the clothes she lost, he takes her shopping. NaLu for LyssaLa from tumblr. Fluffish. Enjoy...maybe. xD EDITED for random switch to 1st person!


**Because I saw her mention a few of my other fics on tumblr...I offered to write LyssaLa a one-shot as a kind of "thank you" for kind of advertising...haha. Anyway, her request was fluffy NaLu and while I think my forte is a little more on the angsty side...I have attempted it. I hope you like it! :)**

**EDIT: I have fixed the random first person switch. I tried so hard to keep it in third person, but it was the first time I'd written NaLu that _wasn't_ working on _Until She's Home Again_ in a while...so it was just kind of habit. Anyway, it's now entirely third person. And I've fixed two random typos I found. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucy stood impatiently outside the door to her apartment complex, tapping her foot on the ground. She tried to ignore her icy ears and the frigid winter breeze even though the effort was completely futile. The blond girl sighed and tugged down her skirt a little more, thankful that she had worn leggings underneath. It kept her just warm enough that she wouldn't absolutely _murder_ Natsu when he finally showed up.

"Luce!"

_Think of the devil and he shall appear_, Lucy thought wryly to herself, turning her unimpressed gaze to her best friend.

"You're late, Natsu," the celestial mage stated coldly, crossing her arms in a rather intimidating manner. She was a constant reminder to the pink-haired dragonslayer that women could be just as frightening as Erza—any woman whatsoever. "I've been standing here in the cold for ten minutes!"

"You could've waited inside, Luce," Natsu rolled his eyes. "I could just come in to get you—"

"You're going to get arrested for that one day," Lucy muttered under her breath, but she stepped forward into the snow covered street to the boy's side. He wore a long-sleeved vest buttoned mostly up and his usual scarf. His black pants matched his vest and then, of course, were his sandals. He didn't look much different from normal. Of course. Lucy wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was a bit disappointed. She reached up to rub her ear a little, but her icy fingers didn't help at all.

While her arms were still up, cold fingers trying to warm her equally frigid ears in vain, she heard Natsu sigh. Something draped over her vision, wrapped loosely around her arms. She quickly brought her hands down to shoulder height in surprise, and it took a few moments to register that a certain familiar white-scaled scarf was wrapped around her. A quick glance at the owner of the scarf showed him averting his gaze, and she slid her arms out from under the scarf to readjust it around her neck.

"Thanks," she said, almost shyly as she tucked her nose down inside the scarf. His scent permeated her senses and made her grin a little—an action that was, thankfully, also hidden by the scarf that caused it.

"No problem, weirdo," he said, and dropped his arm around her shoulders before she could protest any farther. She sighed, deciding to let him get away with the action. It was probably nothing but a friendly little gesture and besides that, she could feel the heat radiating from his body and she instantly felt warmer, too. "Now, where are we going?"

"You're taking _me_ shopping, remember?" Lucy asked indignantly—though she wasn't incensed enough to pull away from his warmth. "You ruined all my best travelling clothes when you burned down the hotel on our last job, so you're replacing them—with interest!"

"Sheesh, I got it already, Luce," he winced, as if she was hurting his ears by scolding him. By now Lucy knew he was just teasing and so she huffed in annoyance, looking ahead of them. "I'll even buy lunch for you."

A tint of pink that had nothing to do with the temperature flooded across Lucy's cheeks and she was thankful for the scarf that she could duck farther into. She felt an awful lot like a turtle when she did so, and soon lifted her head. By now, Lucy Heartfilia was an expert at controlling the color that flooded her cheeks around the cheerful dragonslayer. All it took was a few seconds and fervent hopes that he hadn't already seen it.

"I won't hold back," the blonde girl warned.

"I know."

"I'll make you buy expensive clothes."

"That's fine."

"You're going to have to carry all of the bags."

"Sure."

Lucy looked closely at the dragonslayer, then reached up to feel his forehead. He looked down at her, as if startled, and she furrowed her brow.

"You don't feel any warmer than usual," she mused. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Natsu waved her off, laughing. He was being so agreeable that Lucy didn't know what to do with herself. For once, Natsu had her completely speechless. She couldn't even yell at him for his acts of idiocy because he hadn't done anything wrong at all. It was like he'd taken classes in being a perfect gentleman!

"If you say so," Lucy finally consented uncertainly, turning back to watch the street. She didn't want to step on a patch of ice and fall—especially not in front of Natsu.

And just as she thought that, her left boot slid right out from under her. A strangled sound escaped her and she braced for the impact of her bum striking the cold, hard ground…only to wait for something that didn't come.

"Jeez, Luce, watch where you're walking," Natsu teased again, helping her to regain her footing. The arm that had been around her shoulders had reflexively dropped to catch Lucy under the arm and his other hand came to catch the arm closest to him. She was probably very lucky that he wasn't on a patch of ice, too, or else they might have found themselves in a very compromising position.

"Thanks," Lucy forced out again, putting a hand on his arm to finish steadying herself.

"No problem," the dragonslayer said with a nonchalance Lucy was fairly certain he didn't possess…well, he'd never showed it to her before and it was completely unexpected of him. She felt her heart skip a beat against her will.

"Let's keep going!" the blonde regained her composure, standing up tall. "I want to go find some sexy Heart Kreuz outfits!"

Natsu just smiled to himself, shaking his head.

* * *

"Natsu!" Lucy said loudly, arms crossed, "Where'd you go?"

The dragonslayer had disappeared when she'd slipped into a sports gear store to use the restroom and now the celestial mage stood in the street, shifting weight from one foot to the other and rubbing her hands together, none too pleased. He had _promised_ her he'd take her shopping to replace her clothes. She didn't think that a promise meant so little to him!

"Natsu!"

"What is it, Luce?"

She couldn't help but gasp as she spun around to face the dragonslayer that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere behind her. The blonde did her best to compose herself quickly, immediately shifting her hands to her hips. "Where were you?"

"You looked cold the whole way here," he said, holding out a hand. It wasn't until then that Lucy noticed the steaming Styrofoam cup in his hand. "I bought cappuccinos. Is that okay?"

The accursed color came rushing back to her cheeks as she reached up to take the cup. She smiled up at him, fervently hoping he'd think it was the cold, and said, "Yeah, that's great! Thanks again, Natsu."

"Don't worry about it," he said, again with the nonchalance she hadn't expected, as he once again dropped his arm around her shoulders. "Now let's do a little window shopping and when we finish our coffee, you can pick the store you want to go in first."

"Okay," Lucy agreed, choosing just to go with his attitude. It might be something he never showed her again, so she'd do her best to enjoy it while she got the chance. Whatever the case, even though she liked this nonchalant Natsu, Lucy decidedly preferred the childish and immature dragonslayer she'd known since her first day at Fairy Tail. But for today…for today, this Natsu was a pleasant change.

Lucy sipped at her French vanilla cappuccino as she and Natsu strolled down the snowy street, doing a bit of window shopping and making mental notes of which stores she had to visit and which ones she might be able to pass up.

All the while, Natsu's arm was draped around her shoulders.

There wasn't really a problem with that at all. As she'd already realized, his arm there kept her warmer than she would have been if she was alone or he hadn't been so close. It was just that she felt herself flushing every single time she caught their reflection in one of the windows as they passed. Lucy and Natsu…looked just like a _couple_. And Lucy was mortified—well, not really—to realize that they looked _good_ together. Really good.

Before she knew it…she was completely out of cappuccino. She tossed it in the next trash bin that she and Natsu passed and Natsu leaned across her to shove his own empty cup in right after her.

"Where to first?" he asked casually, tucking his free hand in a pocket. The reflection that was cast in the nearest store window made him look incredibly cool and Lucy forced her eyes away.

"I saw a super-cute Heart Kreuz dress through the window of a shop back this way," Lucy turned around, pointing back down the street. She started walking that way so quickly that Natsu's arm fell from her shoulder.

Heat flooded her face when he snatched her hand instead, but she didn't say anything, nor did she turn around. She just led him to the store in question and pulled him in after her. The blonde celestial mage made a beeline to the dress she had seen and found her size in an instant. The sundress was white with red, orange, and yellow floral patterns. The traditional Heart Kreuz design made an appearance on the sash beneath the bust.

"I'll try this one on," she told Natsu, taking his scarf off and handing it to him before slipping away towards the dressing rooms in the back. Lucy snatched a few shirts and skirts on the way back so that she had other things to try on as Natsu followed at his own pace behind her.

As soon as the curtain swished shut behind the blonde, she took a deep breath and looked down at the hand he'd been holding. It was still warm.

Peeking out, Lucy saw that he wasn't even looking at the booth, but at a few shirts as he passed them. When she saw this, the girl turned her back on the curtain and raised her slightly warm hand to her cheek and smiling softly. It was just a one-time thing, she figured, but she still had enjoyed the feeling of his much larger hand encasing her own in a protective cage. Sighing, she started to change, starting with some of the shirts and skirts she'd grabbed on the way.

On about the third outfit, Lucy decided that she'd see if Natsu's weird nonchalance and obliging nature of the day had continued, so she stepped out and said, "Natsu! How does this look?"

It was against her better judgment. The blonde had simply acted before she had thought it through and now she was practically trembling in her shoes, asking herself what in the world she was doing. But it was too late to back out now because Natsu, who had made his way into the back corner where the dressing rooms were, had turned to look.

"It's not quite you," he said simply, shrugging and turning away but not before he added, "It doesn't look _bad_, mind, but it's just not like you."

"Thanks," Lucy smiled at him and slipped back into the dressing room…where she promptly collapsed on the small cushioned bench.

_What am I thinking?_ The blonde girl vehemently cursed herself mentally. She took off the outfit and realized that the last thing she had was the dress and so she pulled it on. It fit her curves perfectly and she smiled a little to herself as she twirled in front of the mirror. The orange and red and yellow of the floral pattern danced as she spun and looked for all the world like a small flame crawling up the dress.

This time it was a conscious decision for her to step out.

"What about this one, Natsu?" she asked, beaming at him. "Look at the flowers when I spin—what does it remind you of?"

Lucy did a little twirl, feeling much like a little girl but relishing the rush of childishness, and when she was facing Natsu again she flashed a brilliant grin at him. The embarrassment hit like a tidal wave then but she really didn't care because Natsu laughed.

"Fire!"

"Exactly!" Lucy couldn't help but giggle too, and caught in the moment she twirled a circle around the pink-haired dragonslayer. "Well, I'd better change back," she finally said with one last girlish giggle as she turned to reenter the changing room.

She didn't expect the hand to reach out for her.

"Wait, Luce—" Natsu began, his hand encasing hers once more. The blonde was just inside the curtain, their linked hands holding it open. She turned to look at him, her brown eyes clearly showing her confusion and her cheeks reddening at their closeness and contact.

And Lucy saw something break in Natsu's eyes just seconds before he leaned down and kissed her.

It was a short, chaste kiss but a kiss nonetheless. Natsu was red in the cheeks and it was a really endearing look for him to wear. It was utmost embarrassment and uncertainty. But what was most significant about it was the fact that, in a soft voice, he said, "I like you, Lucy."

The curtain slid closed and his voice told her to get changed—but it wasn't the same soft, sweet voice he'd just used when he'd confessed. It was his normal, cheerful tone.

The celestial mage changed slowly back into her clothes, then put the outfits she didn't want on a rack. The only thing she kept was the dress and she stepped out of the dressing room. Natsu looked up at her and he seemed nervous or anxious. It was obvious that he was trying his best to hide it from her. Maybe he wanted her to think it was a joke? Maybe he thought she was rejecting him?

Before Lucy had realized it, Natsu had paid for her dress and they were stepping out into the street.

"Which store next?" Natsu asked, his back to her. "I still owe you—ouch!"

One of the ends of his scarf was in the celestial mage's hand and as he turned to look at the blonde, maybe even to reprimand her for yanking on his scarf and trying to choke him, she returned the favor from the dressing room. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Natsu's hands dropped to her waist after a brief pause and her hands tangled in his hair.

She wanted to show him that she wasn't rejecting him—his kiss in the dressing room had meant something to her, and she wanted to make sure he knew it.

And so, when she dropped back down from her tiptoes, she breathed, "I like you, too."

Their lips were inches apart when the street erupted into cheers and wolf-whistles and laughter and they looked around to find most of the guild leaning around trash cans, sitting on benches, or peeking out of stores.

"You set us up!" Lucy accused, pointing a finger accusingly at Mirajane.

"I don't know what you mean," the white-haired woman said, whistling as she turned to walk away with a wide grin just dying to spread across her features.

"Mira!" Lucy was practically shouting, getting ready to chase after the eldest of the takeover siblings. Before she could even go three steps, two warm arms wrapped around her middle from behind and their owner pulled her back against his well-muscled chest. "Natsu, I have to go skin her alive—!"

"We still have shopping to do," Natsu said in her ear, which sent a shudder up her spine. "And lunch, remember?"

"Was this a date the entire time?" Lucy suddenly realized. She felt the rumble of his chuckle through their closeness and a glance out of the corner of her eye showed his childish grin that she was so fond of.

"Well, I kind of looked at it that way. Sorry."

Sighing, the blonde pried one of his hands away from her stomach and linked their fingers together. "It's alright now," Lucy replied, squeezing the finger's she'd taken as he squeezed back, "because it really is a date…right?"

"Right."

* * *

**So...not my forte, like I said, but it was kind of fun to write this so I hope someone likes it. Thanks so much for reading and I'm sorry to all of you that have been waiting on a new fic! Haha XD**


End file.
